6.5-magnitude quake strikes New Zealand

A 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck New Zealand on Friday, interfering with transport and catching people in elevators.

But authorities said there were no reports of significant damage.

“We have actually certainly dodged a bullet,” stated Vince Cholewa, a spokesman for the civil defense ministry. “There are structures that have actually lost some plaster. Some fractures in walls– nothing significant.”.

The center of the quake was near the northern pointer of the nation’s South Island, 14 miles south of the town of Blenheim, the the U.S. Geological Study stated. It struck at 2:31 p.m. regional time and was followed by a series of aftershocks.

The quake was felt in the capital, Wellington, on the other side of the Cook Strait that lies in between New Zealand’s two major islands.

“It’s really frightening,” stated Cholewa, who’s based in Wellington. “I was on the eighth floor of a building and it certainly wobbled quite well. I was under my workdesk well and really.”.

A variety of individuals were devoid of elevators that stopped in structures in the central business district, Wellington authorities stated.

Train services in and out of Wellington were suspended, getting worse traffic congestion as great deals of individuals left the city early by car and on foot.

NZX, the nation’s Wellington-based stock exchange, briefly stopped trading following the quake.

Initially reported at a higher magnitude of 6.8, the earthquake hit at a depth of 6.2 miles, the USGS said.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center and New Zealand authorities both said there was no tsunami hazard.

New Zealand sits at the southwestern edge of the Pacific “ring of fire,” a location of high seismic and volcanic task that stretches up through Japan, throughout to Alaska and down the west coastlines of North and South America.

In February 2011, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake toppled buildings in the South Island city of Christchurch, getting rid of 185 individuals and injuring a number of thousand.

“We have actually certainly dodged a bullet,” said Vince Cholewa, a spokesman for the civil defense ministry.”It’s very frightening,” said Cholewa, who’s based in Wellington. “I was on the eighth floor of a structure and it certainly wobbled rather well.

6.5-magnitude quake strikes New Zealand